BlogHer Food ’10, Day One

So, this weekend I went to the BlogHer Food conference in San Francisco, partly for my research on women’s food blogging communities, and partly because I have dreams of being a superstar food blogger who makes ONE MILLION DOLLARS from what springs from my brain and my kitchen. (Not really, but isn’t it a hoot to pretend?)

I arrived in San Francisco and to the conference during the second set of panels, and popped in to see Mrs. Q, who is a friend of a friend, and the rest of the panel on “kids, cooking and health.” I honestly don’t remember much of what was said in this panel because I got caught up thinking about my own son’s lunches and how much I deplore the tray lunches at his school. It got me thinking, too, about the matrix that constitutes the relationship between The Poor and The Establishment. I am too tired to parse it right now, so suffice it to say that I’ve been chewing on this issue since Friday.

After that panel, I went to another panel on maintaining your voice across social media platforms. This one was geared more toward the rock stars and the wannabes, I think. If you want to be a professional food blogger, this was the panel for you, because it really was about building a brand. I had fun live-Tweeting it, tho!

Demos and sampling were next, so I grabbed a few nibbles from the Nutella and Nature’s Path tables (I would not eat a full meal until my return to Austin on Sunday evening) before heading over to my hotel.

I really liked my hotel room. It reminded me of a nicer, cleaner version of Paris hotel room. Of course, it wasn’t nearly as swanky as other attendees’ rooms, but it was enough for me. Plus, it was far enough away that I got to do a lot of walking, which I think helped me keep from gaining weight on my all-Scharffen Berger diet. Here are a few peeks at my quarters:

After I freshened up, I walked back down to Howard Street for the opening night party at Elan. Shortly after grabbing a glass of wine and a canape, I spotted Molly Wizenberg of Orangette. We had a lovely chat, and she was very patient with the eager lady (me) who introduced herself by saying “IjusthadtocomesayhiIwasreadingyourbookontheplanehereandIjustloveit!”

I hate how puffy my face is in this picture.

There were lots of samples.

Kerrygold cheeses and butters. Yes.

Hi-Chew, Japan's answer to Starburst. I got a bunch of packets, but I think I left them in my hotel room.

The ladies from Donsuemor, with delish madeleines and other tasty treats.

Not pictured here, but among the best tastes I had that night were the goodies from FullBloom Baking Company. I especially recommend the marshmallow crunch bars and the toasted oatmeal bar. They tasted like treats, but not chemically processed and infused with guilt and unicorn tears.

I floated around a bit, trying to make eye contact with folks, but no one seemed interested in socializing with strangers. So I ate a tiny duck slider and left. Was in my jimjams and trying to choke down vile room service French Onion soup by 9pm.